Preview: Italy v Scotland
Ahead of their final home Stadio Olimpico fixture of the tournament, Italy have made key changes at fullback and flyhalf as they look to put recent defeats to France and England behind them.
New Azzurri flyhalf Carlo Canna has failed to recover from injury, meaning New Zealand-born Kelly Haimona will make his first start of his year's tournament. Fleet-footed David Odiete replaces Luke McLean at fullback, having impressed in Paris but missed the game against England due to a calf problem.
Meanwhile, lock Joshua Furno will make his first start of the tournament when he replaces George Biagi, who has been ruled out after suffering a fractured rib against England.
On paper, Brunel's matchday XV is similar to the team that kicked off against France, and came within two points of causing an almighty upset at the Stade de France where captain Sergio Parisse missed a last-gasp drop kick.
But Brunel warned it would be a mistake to simply rank Scotland as a team against whom Italy should expect to win.
"I don't know what Scotland's weak points are. If you look at the last games they played, from the World Cup and in this Six Nations, they have lost games they could have won. For us, they are very physical side and technically superior. It's a difficult game for us. We've got used to the idea that playing against Scotland is easier, the one we can win.
"But for me, it's one of the hardest teams to play against. It's the team that has impressed me the most," said Brunel.
Vern Cotter's men travel to the Eternal City desperate to end a nine-game run of defeats in the championship, having conceded defeat to Wales in Cardiff after their opening defeat to England at Murrayfield.
Cotter has welcomed Dutch-born wing Tim Visser back to his starting line-up as a replacement for Sean Lamont in what was the only change from the side that started against Wales. Visser, who has scored 10 tries in 23 Tests, was included in the original squad but returns from a hamstring injury that ruled him out of the opening rounds.
Scotland are expected to prevail in Rome having accounted for Italy twice before last autumn's World Cup but the New Zealander said it would be a mistake to underestimate what he called a "talented" Italian team.
"Italy have shown they are a talented team, particularly in their performance away against France, but also against England. They surprised both teams with their physicality, intensity and quality, all of which we will have to be ready for, and at least equal to, if we are to win in Rome this weekend.
"We have worked hard to improve our game and will stay true to the core values of this team, which is to work hard but stay calm; have belief in our systems, ourselves, and enjoy the opportunity," said Cotter.
Players to watch:
For Italy: As always captain Sergio Parisse will be the rock of his side while hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini will look to provide the stability needed at scrum time as well as grunt in the contact area. All eyes though will be on Kelly Haimona to see what impact he will have following the success of Carlo Canna at flyhalf.
For Scotland: Greig Laidlaw will undoubtedly keep his side in the contest with his boot while fullback Stuart Hogg will look for any chance to run the ball from the back. Willem Nel will give the Scots the grunt needed in the contact area while the Gray brothers are always a handful at the line-out.
Head to head: The contest at scrum time will be an interesting one to keep an eye on while the battle between David Denton and Sergio Parisse at No.8 is a mouth watering prospect. The pivotal battle though will be between Finn Russell and Kelly Haimona to see who will be able to set the backline off.
Recent results:
2015: Scotland won 48-7, Edinburgh
2015: Scotland won 16-12, Torino
2015: Italy won 22-19, Edinburgh
2014: Scotland won 21-20, Rome
2013: Scotland won 30-29, Pretoria
2013: Scotland won 34-10, Edinburgh
2012: Italy won 13-6, Rome
2011: Scotland won 23-12, Edinburgh
2011: Scotland won 21-8, Edinburgh
2010: Italy won 16-12, Rome
Prediction: Both sides have struggled to make any sort of impact in the competition but this fixture will be far from a dull affair. Both sides will be determined to avoid the wooden spoon and while the Azzurri will have home ground advantage, Scotland should have enough to take the victory by five points.
Teams:
Italy: 15 David Odiete, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mattia Bellini, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (captain), 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lovotti.
Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Matteo Zanusso, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Edoardo Padovani, 23 Andrea Pratichetti.
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 8 David Denton, 7 John Hardie, 6 John Barclay, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Moray Low, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Sean Lamont.
Date: Saturday, February 27
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-off: 15.25 (14.25 Scotland time; 14.25 GMT)
Predicted weather: Cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 15, low of 12
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Pascal Gauzère (France), Nick Briant (New Zealand)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
